When Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb sustained a season-ending knee injury on ESPN’s presentation of Monday Night Football on ABC, the network opted not to show the replay of what happened. Staffers made the call after watching what had unfolded in the production truck and decided against presenting it on the air out of respect for Chubb and the viewers. While many sports media personalities commended the decision made by the network, there have been others who have thought of it from a contrasting perspective.
Mike Stone, morning radio co-host on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit, Mich., was watching Monday Night Football last night when the Chubb injury occurred. Although he understands why ESPN chose to refrain from displaying what had happened, he feels it went against their responsibilities as a broadcast network. The sentiments are similar to those made by national sports radio host Dan Patrick, who believed it should be replayed once to fulfill the role the network has towards its viewers.
“They showed it at the stadium, granted it was in Pittsburgh [and it was] the visiting player,” Stone said. “You know what? We’re adults; we can handle it, especially if we’re told, ‘If you think this might be too difficult to watch – we’re going to show the replay – look away.’ I don’t know.”
Both Stone and Patrick understand that ESPN had to contend with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest after a play, a situation they handled with professionalism and aplomb. Hamlin ended up being rushed to the hospital and remained in critical condition for several days after the incident, which led the NFL to cancel the contest entirely. Patrick explained the layout of a broadcast production truck and how the producer and director were likely the ones who came to the consensus. The duo then informed broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman of their decision, which was subsequently relayed to the viewers on the air.
“You have to show it again to at least put it in context of what happened there,” Patrick said. “They decided that they weren’t going to do it. I would’ve done it; I would’ve done it once because you’re carrying the game and I think you owe it to the audience, and you could do a disclaimer.”
Jon Jansen, morning radio co-host on 97.1 The Ticket, did not take a side pertaining to this situation on the air. He contributed to the conversation by providing the perspective of a player and how it may have factored into the resolution effectuated by ESPN.
“You can go on Twitter; you can go on social media [and] you can go on a number of different websites where you can see it and you can go back and replay it yourself because it wasn’t streaming,” Jansen said. “Do you need to see the close-up?”
“Yeah, you kind of do,” Stone replied. “It’s the biggest story to come out in sports yesterday.”
The ordeal took place during ESPN’s first Monday Night Football doubleheader of the season, a venture that presents two prime-time games simultaneously across The Walt Disney Company-owned linear networks. ESPN started the night with a matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers before the rivalry game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers aired on ABC. Disney has reportedly had conversations to sell ABC network and local television stations, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The company currently pays an estimated $2.7 billion per year for rights to Monday Night Football, which includes flex scheduling ability from Week 12 to Week 17. Stone, however, was not a fan of the simultaneous action specifically because of the day of the week.
“I just want to relax and watch one game,” Stone said. “I didn’t like the fact that there were two games on last night, personally, but that’s just me.”
